ABC COMPANY Extended Accounting System (EAS) Project Charter Sample

ABC COMPANY Extended Accounting System (EAS) Project Charter Sample

Prepared by: Document Details ABC Company IT Canada Inc. Business Services Department Information Technology Project: Extended Accounting System (EAS) Doc. Reference: Project Charter Version:.01 Status: Draft Date: April, 2013 Scope: Completeness: Confidence: Classification: Contact: Address: ABC Company - IT Confidential Joe Author ABC Company Canada Inc. 2206 Eagle Ave. East, 6 th Floor Ottawa, Ontario K1V 8X2, Canada Phone (voice): 613.288.9999 ABC Company email: Internet email: This document contains material classified Confidential. Except as specifically authorized by ABC Company Canada Inc. the holder of this document shall keep the information contained herein confidential and shall protect the same in whole or in part from disclosure or dissemination to any unauthorised party. Copyright 2013, ABC Company C2013 This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Document History Version Date Editor Details.01 Apr 15, 2013 J Author Initial (Draft) Contributors Calvin Waite Process Analyst Angela Borden Business Manager Fred Acker Project Manager Umer Shuman Technical Architect Documentation Sign-Off & Reviewers Contact Info 613.288.2678 2206 Eagle Ave. East, 6 th Floor Document Reviewers 613.288.5260 2206 Eagle Ave. East, 6 th Floor 613.288.2975 2206 Eagle Ave. East, 6 th Floor 613.701.2243 2206 Eagle Ave. East, Bowes Area Sign-Off Authorization Name Contact Info Signature John Lake 613.288.5176 Senior Vice President / BSD IT Lilian Long 613.288.5319 AVP / Application Integration Peter New 613.288.2943 AVP / Systems Support Tatyana Donald 613.288.5271 Manager / QA & Testing Stephanie Power 613.288.3151 Enterprise Architect

Table of Contents 1. CONTEXT... 5 2. SCOPE... 6 3. PURPOSE... 7 4. OBJECTIVES... 8 5. DESCRIPTION... 9 5.1 PROJECT DEFINITION... 9 5.2 PROJECT DELIVERABLES... 9 6. PROJECT ORGANIZATION... 11 6.1 PROJECT TEAM STRUCTURE, ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES... 11 6.2 ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRAINTS... 11 6.3 PROJECT PLAN & BUDGET... 11 7. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS... 13 8. IMPACTS ON THE ORGANIZATION... 14 9. PROJECT RISK ANALYSIS... 15

1. CONTEXT This section provides a basis for why the document has been prepared - it gives the reader an understanding of what they should expect to see in the remainder of the document. The Project Charter deliverable is used to establish a formal project. It is the initial deliverable prepared for the Extended Accounting System project and defines why the project was initiated, the scope of the project, the purpose & objectives of the project, the project milestones and a high level estimate on the effort and cost associated with the project.

2. SCOPE This section provides a context for the project and the business solution that will be addressed by the project. The ABC Company has evolved its business enterprises to various locations across North America. During this evolution, it continues to face the ongoing struggle to obtain the necessary resources to optimize its business operations. This is most prevalent in the discipline of Information Technology where resources are scarce and the demand for their expertise continues to grow. To remain competitive, the ABC Company has conducted an initial analysis to assess the potential benefits of having external "vendors" provide IT resources to meet the expanding need. Upon completion of the assessment, the Director of Accounting has undertaken to sponsor the Extended Accounting System (EAS) project. The mandate of the EAS project is to ensure ABC Company has the necessary operational infrastructure to support the evaluation, acquisition, oversight, and financial reconciliation with "Vendors" who deliver contract resources to the ABC Company.

3. PURPOSE This section provides an overview of the why the project has been initiated and the effects it will have when it is successfully implemented. The purpose of the Extended Accounting System (EAS) project is to : Develop the operational infrastructure to support and administer "vendors" who deliver contract resources and services to the ABC Company Integrate this additional operational capability (vendor sourcing) with existing operational systems, processes and procedures Ensure all existing ABC Company staff affected by this project are trained and able to perform their operational roles Incorporate the necessary metric and measurement information to assess the efficiency and monitor the utilization of this new operational function

4. OBJECTIVES This section identifies the high-level milestone targets that will be achieved throughout the project - specific milestone dates should be documented. The project objectives of the EAS project are to Identify and obtain necessary EAS project team resource approvals by Apr 30, 2013 Develop the operational requirements to implement the EAS system by Jun 01, 2013 Complete the solution design (technical and process) Jun 25, 2013 Develop and test the code of the EAS application by Oct 15, 2013 Develop all operational processes (aligning with the EAS application) by Oct 15, 2013 Train the necessary users on the functionality of the EAS application and the roles and responsibilities associated with the EAS application by Oct 20, 2013 Implement all functionality of the EAS application by Nov 30, 2013

5. DESCRIPTION This section describes the factors that will be affected/improved as a result of implementing the project. 5.1 Project Definition This sub-section provides further explanation of the scope of the project by defining what will be "included" and "excluded" from the project. The institutionalization of the EAS application includes Introducing and organizational structure that will support the new application Initial and continued education of all project team members and operational users Ensuring all ABC Company best practices, methodologies and processes are followed throughout the life of the project Delivering audits to senior management to monitor the implementation of the EAS application The project scope excludes Altering any additional functionality to the existing ABC Company accounting application Auditing the performance of resources once the EAS application has been placed into production 5.2 Project Deliverables This sub-section provides a listing of the project deliverables that will be completed on the project - deliverables should be selected from the organizational methodology. Project Management Business Case Project Charter Project Deliverables Project Roles & Responsibilities Project Plan/Schedule Project Procedures Configuration Management Plan Change Control Log Quality Assurance Plan Project Status Reports User Acceptance Test (UAT) Authorization System Integration Test (SIT) Authorization Unit Test (UT) Authorization

Project Close-out Report Software Development Software Testing Detailed Business Requirements Requirements Traceability Matrix High Level Solution Design Detailed Solution Design Programming Specifications Code IT Training/Support Testing Strategy User Acceptance Test (UAT) Plan User Acceptance Test (UAT) Evaluation User Acceptance Test (UAT) Log System Integration Test (SIT) Plan System Integration Test (SIT) Evaluation System Integration Test (SIT) Log Unit Test (UT) Plan Unit Test (UT) Evaluation Unit Test (UT) Log

6. PROJECT ORGANIZATION This section provides an overview of the project team, the constraints to be faced by the project team, and the plan (including project cost) associated with the project. 6.1 Project Team Structure, Roles, Responsibilities This sub-section provides an overview of the individuals on the project team and the roles they will play on the project (further clarity and definition can be defined in the Roles & Responsibilities deliverable). See EAS project "Roles & Responsibilities" deliverable. 6.2 Organizational Constraints This sub-section defines the constraints the project team will experience throughout the life of the project. The following represent the existing constraints on the EAS project Organizational expertise in procuring "outsourcing services" is limited Project team has limited exposure with the recently implemented organizational methodologies (PM, development, testing) Necessary infrastructure to support the EAS project does not exist 6.3 Project Plan & Budget This sub-section establishes the high level plan and budget for the project. The reader should have an understanding of the who, the how and the costs of the project. The EAS work Breakdown Structure (WBS) can be reviewed in the EAS Project Plan deliverable. The availability of costing figures for resources were not available at the creation date of this deliverable. They will be incorporated into this deliverable as they become available. Planning Assumptions Resources identified on the project team hierarchy and the project plan will be required for the duration of the project

Hours per Week Duration in Weeks Project Owner 1 40 Steering Committee (4) 1 40 Project Manager 40 40 System Manager 40 40 Technical Architect 40 40 Business Analyst (4) 40 40 Systems Analysts (4) 40 40 Programmers (6) 40 26 Integration Test Analysts (4) 40 10 User Acceptance test Analysts (4) 40 10 Project Plan See Project Management "Project Plan/Schedule" deliverable

7. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS This section identifies the factors that must be addressed throughout the life of the project. Project Ownership The Project Owner must be able to define the project priority - when clashes exist between existing operational priorities (product to the client) versus strategic priorities (implementing best practices). The System Owner must be able to recognize these contesting interests and balance and communicate the solutions in a timely manner. "Touch-points" as the intersection of ABC Company organizational process versus the EAS project must remain under constant review throughout the duration of the project. Organizational Infrastructure An organizational infrastructure must be established to guide the introduction and support the new roles to support the new EAS functionality. Project Roles & Responsibilities Although the project roles have been identified, it will be crucial for the success of the project for resources to become more knowledgeable in their field of expertise. There will be a learning curve for all project team members as they utilize the new methodologies while building and implementing the EAS project.

8. IMPACTS ON THE ORGANIZATION This section identifies the factors that will impact the organization as a result of initiating the project and the effects the project will have on the organization throughout its evolution. Though initially focused on IT services, this project will have effects on other departments within the ABC Company. Specifically, the IT department will have to adopt new processes to identify, evaluate, select and monitor the resources received from the "Vendor". The Procurement Department will be required to adjust its existing processes/procedures to incorporate the additional functionality of IT services. The Accounting Department will have to adjust its accounts payable functions to incorporate "vendors" who have deliver IT services to the ABC Company.

9. PROJECT RISK ANALYSIS This section identifies the factors that could jeopardize the successful implementation of the project. These factors are maintained in the Risk Log and mitigated throughout the life of the project. The primary risk associated with this project include Organizational Culture Change - the prescribed EAS application will introduce the potential for "outsourcing" at ABC Company. This introduces a potential risk for the team developing the application and the resources who will be performing new roles once the solution has been implemented. It should be anticipated that certain elements and cultural realities will resist incorporating this added operational functionality and will resist its implementation - this could have adverse effects on the project team and resources that will be supporting the additional functionality once it is implemented.